


Something Just Like This

by Piehead



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Secret Identity, Superhero Bitty, Superhero Jack, groupchat shenanigans, more tags to come, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-16 16:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11832246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piehead/pseuds/Piehead
Summary: I'm not looking for somebodyWith some superhuman giftsSomesuperheroSome fairytale blissJust something I can turn toSomebody I cankissI want something just like thisThe Superhero AU no one asked for.





	1. Heroes At Last

**Author's Note:**

> Superhero AU! It ended up being a chapter fic by accident. It was only supposed to be a cute scene??? What happened?
> 
> Featuring the age old cliche; We love each other as superheros but hate each other as civilians except oh no I don't actually hate you because it was something of a misunderstanding during our first meeting and I actually really like you?? But now I've got conflicting feelings because I love someone else and am I cheating if I love you too?
> 
> Wow that's a long winded explanation. Anyway. Onward!

Secret identities and broken bones, bullet holes in his suits and opening shop on time were all apart of Eric “Bitty” Bittle’s usual day time routine. It was a constant he had to deal with; hiding out in his flower shop because his superhero persona was pastry themed to throw folks off, resetting his dislocated shoulder when one of the LAX henchmen tossed him into a building, asking Lardo to sew up the bullet holes in his super suit, and making sure  _ Flower Power _ opened at ten am sharp was how his days went.

There was also pining, lots and  _ lots _ of pining, for his fellow superhero, Ice Prince. They were practically opposites and whenever Bitty touched him he felt like he was going to freeze to death instantly but that didn’t change the fact that Ice Prince was insanely hot and always kind to him, even when Bitty was in his way. Bitty supposed that’s where the “Prince” part came in. Or maybe it was because they were partners in crime (or justice?).

He was vastly different from someone  _ else _ Bitty interacted with on a daily basis.

“Good morning, Shitty,” Bitty smiled as he stepped into the bakery. Shitty, the owner, waved hello.

Bitty paused. “ _ Jack. _ ”

“Bittle.” Jack was one of Shitty’s employees. Between Jack and Dex, Bitty definitely preferred Dex. Jack wasn’t… the nicest. And for some reason he always seemed to have a problem with Bitty.

“You really should be eating more protein,” Jack said. Bitty, like always, sized Jack up and inwardly reminded himself that he had the power to  _ bench press _ Jack nine times over. Super strength was one of his many talents and Jack could hold nothing to him.

“Jack, can we  _ please _ skip this part? I just want my muffin and latte,” Bitty sighed. Jack rose an eyebrow but rang up the order. Shitty was already in the middle of putting the coffee together. Bitty passed Jack the money, exact change, and declined the receipt, as always.

“You know, you two would be really fucking good friends if you got pass this whole schtick you do. Are you, like, attracted to each other or what?” Shitty snorted, handing over the coffee while Jack grabbed the muffin.

Bitty blushed a bit, taking his coffee and giving it an experimental sip. Yep, perfect, just how he liked it. He didn’t dare acknowledge Shitty’s comment; he  _ had _ , at one point, been attracted to Jack. To some capacity, he still was. But Jack didn’t make things easy for him, not when he was always an ass about Bitty’s weight, or muscle definition, or height. God, those quips about his height were terrible, if only because Bitty was  _ average _ height. Not everyone was a giant.

“I’m pretty sure I’m not at fault here,” Jack said. “Bittle’s always got his head in the clouds. Or dirt, depending on if he’s working.”

Bitty nearly spat his coffee on the ground. Firstly, because Jack had made a joke. He  _ never _ made those when Bitty was around. Secondly, he had just implied Bitty was an airhead. An airhead!

“Me?! Jack Zimmermann I have not once seen you smile at me since the first day I walked in here.” He shot an accusatory glare at Jack for good measure. Jack was unfazed by it.

“Brah, chill,” Shitty intervened quickly. “You two just need to work some things out. How about we go to the bar? Lards is having open mic night and I think Dex’s hipster boyfriend is gonna be doing poetry.”

Immediately, both of them started coming up with excuses.

“Oh, no, Shitty, I really can’t. I’ve gotta close up shop and make sure all the plants are watered and make sure I’ve got all the orders ready, you know, for that wedding in a couple days?” Bitty rambled. He knew Shitty knew the wedding; Bitty had watched the bride and groom march right on over to Shitty’s bakery after putting in an order for the flower arrangements.

Jack’s excuse was simpler, “Can’t. Hockey practice tonight.”

Bitty vaguely remembered Shitty telling him that Jack coached a little league hockey team. Bitty could hardly imagine Jack Zimmermann, the man with no emotions other than  _ rude _ coaching children under ten. He managed it anyway, and wouldn’t dare admit how cute the thought of it was. He’d take the secret to the grave if he could.

“Damn, stood up again? I’m starting to think you two live double fucking lives.”

Bitty laughed, a response he’d conditioned himself to have when people insinuated he was anything other than a florist. It worked really well as a cover because people genuinely thought he that  _ he _ thought they were hilarious for even mentioning it. It was possibly one of the oldest tricks in the book, but if you made it believable enough, folks didn’t question it again.

“Shitty, that’s possibly the most hilarious thing you’ve said about either of us.” Bitty glanced at his watch. He still had a bit of time. “Especially considering Jack’s about as interesting as a hockey stick.”

“Hey, hockey sticks can be interesting,” Jack protested. Bitty rose an eyebrow at him.

“Whatever you say, Mr. Zimmermann. Anyhow, I need to go finish prepping the shop. New vases came in this morning.” Bitty nodded to both of them. “See y’all at lunch?”

“Dex will be in at lunch.”

“I know.” Bitty gave Jack a sly smirk, and then headed out of the shop to cross the street. He needed to prep the vases that just came in for the day. He didn’t get many customers generally, but he also needed to put together arrangements.

Bitty hoped to God that there wouldn’t be any sudden villain attacks on the city. The last time that happened, he had closed shop three hours early and that had been terrible. He nearly missed giving Mrs. Johnson the bouquet she had asked for. Plus, he deserved a break; he had patrol that night anyway and wanted to get his suit back from Lardo before he did anything else. He hated the back up suit; it was too tight in the butt.

Unfortunately, life seemed to have other plans for him, because the moment Bitty stepped foot in his shop, the cooking show on the television in the corner of the shop was interrupted by an emergency broadcast; one of the LAX villains was planning something sinister.

“I ain’t even get to finish my coffee!” Bitty grumbled, hurrying to the back of the shop.

He hated the whole “push a brick and a secret wall opened up” thing and so he had opted for something else; a tinted greenhouse. The light came in easily and he could see out but no one could see in. The greenhouse was designed by Lardo and he had built it with the savings he had leftover after he had finished paying for the shop to be built.

It was a bit risky; if another hero with, say, x-ray vision came by overhead looking for villains, it would be awfully hard to explain away the lair hidden within. Fortunately, most of his things were hidden around it, in inconspicuous places. Communicator in the cactus pot, backup suit hidden within one of the cushions of his chairs, shoes tucked away behind a couple bushes, mask hidden in one of the hanging pots.

It was the only way Bitty knew to stay hidden. He had a passion for baking, but with a superhero identity like “the Baker” he couldn’t really give himself away. So, he went for the next best thing in his life; being a florist. It was just easy cover. No one suspected a florist to be a superhero, and he always told people he was a terrible baker. It pained him to bring half burned, salty, cookies to any of the city council meetings, but he had an image to uphold.

“Baker!” the voice that came through the communicator was that of the Ice Prince, who sounded a bit panicked.

“I’m here,” Bitty responded, pulling on his suit. Man, this thing was really tight in the ass area.

“I can’t get out there to help you so Artessa’s sending other backup. Punch a Chad bot for me?” Ice Prince said.

Bitty paused in pulling on his boots, just briefly. He wasn’t exactly used to working with others; it had taken him a year to be comfortable fighting alongside Ice Prince. But they had been working on his communication issues, and Ice Prince had helped him get through the worst of it. Trust was hard for Bitty, especially when his first partner had turned out to be a villain. Ice Prince seemed familiar with something similar.

“Roger that,” Bitty replied.

“That’s the spirit. Good luck!” Ice Prince’s reassuring words made Bitty smile, and then he slipped his mask over his eyes, outfit complete now. He shoved the communicator onto his hip and then flipped the welcome mat up, opening a hatch. He jumped down into it and slid through a series of tunnels, before he popped out in the sewers. It smelled absolutely  _ horrendous _ down there, but there was little he could do about that other than cover his nose and fly fast.

“Cartoons always made the sewers seem nicer… TMNT, you lied to me!” Bitty mumbled, before he found the usual manhole he popped up out of. It was in the middle of the forest on the edge of Samwell. Lucky enough, it was only a mile from his shop.

Bitty took to the air and headed downtown, knowing that whichever LAX organization villain that was at work would be terrorizing tall buildings. They were so predictable.

“Mister Baker, sir!”

Bitty was caught off guard when someone came rushing past him, hot air accompanying them and he realized he must be working with Red Hot, one of the short tempered, newer heroes Lardo had been telling him about. Heat based powers; they had that in common at least.

“Gosh, you can drop all that ‘mister’ and ‘sir’ business,” Bitty smiled, pausing in his flight. Man, defying gravity was weird and fun. “Baker’s fine.”

Red Hot managed to come back and stop in front of Bitty. He had picked up a mask as well, hiding his eyes from Bitty. Bitty wondered if Red Hot realized there was more to it than just hiding the eyes.

“Baker… This- it’s my first LAX mission,” Red Hot admitted. “I’m usually delegated to muggings and petty robberies-”

“You’ll do fine,” Bitty assured. “Just breathe. Don’t let them get to you.”

Red Hot looked a little vulnerable, just for a second, before an explosion reminded them that there were  _ lives _ at stake. In moments they were in the center of the commotion, looking around for the cause. There were C.H.D. (or Chad) bots littering the streets, causing chaos and wreaking havoc. Bitty was used to Ice Prince calling the shots, but resolved to do so himself since this was Red Hot’s first major battle.

“I’m gonna go find the final boss, you get as many of the Chad bots taken care of as possible. Hopefully Bullseye and Noisemaker will be here soon to clean up any stragglers. If they show up soon, come find me. I might need more help than I think,” Bitty said. “And if you get a chance, find the police chief and have him set up a perimeter. I think that’s what Ice Prince always remembers to do.”

Red Hot nodded, no questions asked, and shot down towards the streets. The Chad bots were everywhere; destroying public property and turning over cars. He started melting them and smashing them into each other, breaking the complex machinery and frying the circuitry.

Meanwhile, Bitty went looking for the LAX villain responsible for this mess. It wasn’t easy to find him at first, leading Bitty to the conclusion that it was LAX Clone, the villain that made himself blend in perfectly well with the robots and anyone else through changing his appearance in an instant. Bitty was nearly certain all the Chad bots were designed after him.

His oven timer went off in his mind, warning him that danger was coming at him fast. Before Bitty knew it he was just barely dodging a well thrown car. If his daddy had been there, he would have lauded the villain for having a good throwing arm. And then kicked ass, because the Coach took no prisoners. Well, except for Hot Mama, but she didn’t count because his daddy fell in love with her and, well. The rest was history. Villainy didn’t really fit his momma after she got pregnant with him.

“Well if it isn’t pastry boy,” LAX Clone called from the streets. Next to him was LAX Brute, whose strength rivaled Bitty’s own. “Bro, you’ve gotta get a change in style. We saw you coming a mile away.”

Bitty really wished he had his other suit. He hated how obvious this one was.

“Where’s the cold man today, huh? He still owes me for last time,” LAX Brute grunted, a purple-black bruise visible on his cheek. Bitty snorted. Ice Prince had landed a really good punch the last time they fought together.

“Minding his own business,” Bitty replied, “You’d think y’all LAX buffoons would learn to do that yourselves by now.”

Apparently that aggravated them, because LAX Brute tossed another car at Bitty, one he was just barely able to catch and drop to the ground. He really hoped all of these people had car insurance.

The ensuing fight was fairly uneven, leaving Bitty wishing for his usual partner in justice. Red Hot was occupied with the Chad bots still and it was starting to look like a downhill battle. There was little Bitty could do when he was tossed into a building; he felt his shoulder snap outta place again and cursed to the high heavens.

In true Ice Prince fashion, however, Bitty was saved at the last minute. Popping up from seemingly nowhere, Ice Prince made an ice barrier to protect Bitty from the minivan that came flying at him. Bitty breathed a sigh of relief and flew down to grab Ice Prince and lift him into the air.

“And just  _ where _ have you been?” Bitty questioned. Ice Prince smiled up at him.

“Had to beg the boss for a bit of time to fight. Crazy, right?” Ice Prince replied. Bitty felt his chest go hot just from that one statement. Or maybe it was his inner fire burning a bit brighter? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he felt re-energized just from that one smile.

“Think you can handle LAX Clone while I go toe-to-toe with Brute?” Bitty asked, “I owe him, at least, a stop sign to the head. Or a mailbox.”

Ice Prince let out a low chuckle, and gave him the greenlight to set him down. Bitty dropped him towards the LAX villains. This was an older maneuver of theirs; Ice Prince went in from the front, icy hot, while Bitty came around the back like a whirlwind. It wasn’t long before the two of them had the LAX idiots running with their tails between their legs.

“This isn’t over!” LAX Clone shouted at them as LAX Brute hoisted him over his shoulder and ran.

By that point Red Hot had gotten rid of almost all the Chad bots. Bitty and Ice Prince helped him round up the last few, and then the three of them stood together in the street.

“Good work,” Ice Prince nodded to Red Hot. Red Hot, for one, was completely awestruck.

“You’re taller in person,” he mumbled.

“Thank you.” Ice Prince smiled a bit. Bitty covered up a brief chuckle.

“Someone have a crush?” he teased. He was sure Red Hot was blushing beneath his mask.

“IhavetoleavenowandgiveArtessamyreport.” The rushed sentence was followed by Red Hot flying off, the air left behind too hot to breathe. Bitty and Ice Prince took a step back.

“Do I get a goodbye kiss today?” Ice Prince asked when Bitty glanced at the time on his communicator.

“Absolutely not. You made me fight the LAX bros all on my own.” Bitty crossed his arms. Ice Prince crowded a bit closer, into Bitty’s space.

“You don’t see me for days and you won’t give me one kiss? That’s cold, Baker.” The light teasing was customary between them. Bitty couldn’t keep up with his angry stance, and dropped his arms.

“If I see you for patrol tonight, maybe I will give you a kiss,” he offered. Ice Prince skipped out on patrol sometimes, so Bitty knew it was a fifty-fifty chance.

“I’ll be there.”

Ice Prince turned and got a running start before freezing the road enough to slide away on. Bitty had thought about following him on multiple occasions, and had even started one day, but then he remembered that he needed to respect Ice Prince’s privacy. Bitty hadn’t revealed his own secret identity, why should he look for Ice Prince’s? Besides, they had a nice thing between them otherwise.

Bitty’s mind suddenly caught up with the fact that they had been flirting, and this time Ice Prince had  _ actually _ asked for a kiss. He resisted the urge to shout for joy; Ice Prince was willing to kiss him! Was that just the banter between them? Was Ice Prince serious? Bitty didn’t know, but he hoped it was the latter.

The alarm on his communicator went off. It was already 11:23. The shop was supposed to open at ten. He was nearly an hour and thirty minutes late to open.

“Oh no,” Bitty mumbled to himself. He was supposed to have the new vases out! Not to mention Mrs. Johnson might be back for her usual morning bouquet. If he was lucky she wouldn’t be there before noon, but luck had never really been on Bitty’s side.

Flying off faster than anyone could say “Chad bot,” Bitty rushed to get his flower shop open. Meanwhile, through the glass of a window, someone watched him fly away, eyes hungry and intentions less than pure…


	2. Before the After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We gain a bit of insight into Bitty's past, to learn more about his future...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! Whoop whooooo!!
> 
> I outlined this the morning before work last Friday, and I've been occupied with it since. I had to get down all the acronyms, the hero names, the powers, the villains, the backstories; I have everything written down in my journal.
> 
> There's so much to this universe you wouldn't believe.

Bitty liked night patrol. It was easy and there were very few villains that got around at night. He figured it was because even the super evil needed their beauty sleep. The worst of his typical night patrols was usually drug busts and rape attempts, all of which he thwarted with just his presence usually. People who prayed on the weak were usually weak themselves, and there had only been maybe a couple of instances (usually drug busts) where he had needed to take someone down with his fists.

He wished things were always this simple. He could focus on his flower shop, maybe find someone to settle down with like his parents. But crime stopped for no one, Bitty knew. His father may have been “retired” but he still got around at times. If something happened and one of those newer, upbeat heroes down in Georgia was having a hard time, his daddy took to his old suit and saved the day.

Bitty wondered if his daddy would be proud of him now. He still remembered the first phone call he had gotten after moving up to the big city of Samwell…

~//~

“Yes, Daddy,” Eric said into the phone. He rolled his eyes as his father continued talking. Honestly; he could be as bad as his mother! Not literally of course. “Yes, Daddy.”

The phone call still hadn’t wrapped up when Eric finished setting up the plant shelves closer by the windows; he was gonna fly up and put them up high, but had chosen to use the ladder instead, since there was still enough light out that anyone could have been seen. The last thing he needed was anyone spotting his short ass flying around his new flower shop.

“Coach,” Eric finally sighed. “I’ll be fine. This is good for me.”

“I know it is, Junior,” his daddy replied from the other end of the line.

“And you trust me to take care, don’t you?”

The silence on the other end was telling, but eventually his father grumbled out a yes. Eric knew he was still scared for him, but Georgia held too many bad memories now. He had barely been able to do night patrols after the incident with his ex-partner. Flying had come easy to him when he was a kid, but the mental block had been so hard to get around after. He was lucky he had managed it before leaving.

Samwell was a good change for him. It was a fresh start in a new city, one of the bigger ones on the East Coast, but not nearly as massive as, say, New York or Gotham. It still needed a coalition of heroes to take care of it but it would never be on the scale of either city. Besides; Eric worked alone. He didn’t  _ do _ partners anymore. It was better that way after what happened with his last partner.

It was better this way.

“Just be safe out there, Junior.” It was his daddy’s way of saying “I love you” and had always been. Eric took the words and held them close.

“I will.”

~//~

Bitty took to the skies to look for any trouble happening below. It was so  _ easy  _ to spot crime from the skies; he didn’t really know how Ice Prince managed when he was on the ground. Plus, he covered more distance when the fastest way from A to B was over the buildings in a straight shot. The only downside was that Bitty had to maneuver around the bigger buildings when they weren’t scanning the suburbs.

He didn’t have super hearing but Bitty could hear the sounds of spray paint cans and people laughing. He rounded a building and spotted some kids on the side of a church, vandalizing the holy building. The sight of the kids with the spray paint had him coming down to fly just above them, effectively scaring them.

“Now, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want the  _ police _ to hear about this.” It was a statement said with enough authority that the kids went running.

Bitty landed next to the bag of paint cans and found a couple white cans. He started spraying over the vandalism, and his mind immediately brought itself to someone  _ else _ who did art, but used it in a way that stopped villains cold in their tracks.

“Artessa could do this in a heartbeat,” Bitty mumbled as he finished up.

~//~

It was his first encounter with the LAX Corporation. Eric had never met any villains quite like these. They were enhanced human beings that  _ chose _ to have their bodies changed. Eric was born with the abilities he had but these people were altered. He didn't want to think about what that meant for them and their humanity.

He was up against one that called himself LAX Sport. The sports themed villain was a pain in Eric’s ass, for sure, but he was less worried about himself getting hurt and more concerned with the fact that these LAX Corporation Creeps were recklessly endangering human life. Eric could barely protect these people  _ and _ keep from getting pummeled himself.

A woman was about to be crushed beneath a car when Eric gained unlikely backup.

“Hey!” a voice yelled up at him. Eric looked and spotted a masked hero covered in what looked to be paint stains with a paint brush at least twice their size held in their hand. The car that would have crushed the woman Eric couldn’t save lay to the side, sliced in half and covered in paint.

“Keep your eye on the ball!” LAX Sport shouted, before he hit what looked to be a golf ball at Eric. He knew, however, that it was a little explosive that did a lot of damage. He didn’t entirely have time to react, though, but was saved when a glob of paint hit the ball and sent it into a building. There was no big explosion either; whatever was in this stuff neutralized threats easily. Part of Eric wanted some of it.

The paint themed hero stepped up to fight, which apparently alarmed LAX Sport.

“Two against one? That’s against the rules!” he shouted, “I’ll be back when you learn to play fair!”

Eric was surprised he beat such a hasty retreat. He would have followed if he hadn’t been called down to stand in front of the other vigilante.

“You must be new to the city,” the paint hero stated. They thrust out a hand. “Artessa.”

“Baker,” Eric responded immediately, shaking their hand. They were smaller than him but had a strong grip. Someone who needed to work hard to be taken seriously then.

“I don’t want to sound rude, but we need to go before the police show up. They’ve been talking about you.” Artessa used her huge paint brush to paint a door. She pushed it open and a room appeared on the other side; it looked like someone’s apartment. “Follow me.”

Eric was a bit skeptical, but they  _ had _ just saved his ass, so he followed them through. When the door closed behind them, it disappeared in a splatter of paint on the ground.

On the other side, Eric looked around. It was a modest studio apartment, something decorated with lots of art and modern looking pieces. Eric figured Artessa must have been an artist of sorts beyond their persona.

“You’re the new guy in town. Eric Bittle, right?” Artessa asked.

Eric bristled, shocked to have his identity figured out so easily. He tried mapping quick escape routes from the apartment in his head, just in case he had judged Artessa as a good guy too quickly.

“Yo, it’s cool, man. We’ve been watching you for a while.”

The TV cut on and played a series of clips, mainly Eric flying about and stopping small time villains. His encounter with LAX played at the very end.

“Who is ‘we’?” Eric asked, eyes narrowed.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Artessa pulled off their mask, their clothes fading away with it the moment they did. The paint brush shrunk down into something small Artessa could fit into their pocket. They looked like a young woman. Short, black, hair; warm, brown, eyes. She smiled at him.

“I’m Larissa Duan. I work with the H.A.U.S. of Samwell. I own the bar down the block from your flower shop.”

H.A.U.S… Eric recognized the name. It was Heroes Anonymous Under Statute. They were kind of like the Justice League or the Avengers. A group of heroes banded together dedicated to saving their city. H.A.U.S. had been watching him. H.A.U.S. had been watching him!

“What did you think about me?” Eric asked, forgetting for a moment that Larissa had known his name and occupation and basically torn down the “Secret” part of his identity.

“You’re a good guy. We at H.A.U.S. look for new heroes like you, try to recruit so there aren’t a shit ton of vigilantes running around. You fought good against LAX,” Larissa elaborated. “Someone had to reveal themself to you, though, so that you could have a friend who understood you out in the field. I volunteered and found out all I could about you. No one else at H.A.U.S. knows your secret identity. Gets hard to keep a secret when everyone knows, you know?”

It was a lot of information to take in, but Eric was glad to know that they didn’t have any ill will towards him and that his identity was still secret, save for a single person. Still, if his momma or daddy knew he had been figured out so easily, he would have faced Hell.

“How did you find out?” he had to ask.

“Not every day we get a new hero on the block. I came into your shop once, to scope it out when you took the space. The flowers are mad pretty, bro,” Larissa’s smile widened a bit. “And then I did some mental math. Drew too many pictures of you as Eric and you as the Baker. Found all the similarities.”

Eric nodded along, understanding the process Larissa went through. Well, he supposed he couldn’t really be blamed for having his identity figured out then. But even still-

“Why did you choose to reveal yourself to me?”

“Bro, you and me? Cut from the same cloth. Well, sorta.” Larissa led Eric into her kitchen area. She pulled a couple beers from the fridge and passed one to Eric. “Born super, right?”

Eric nodded. With his set of parents he would have been more surprised if he hadn’t been born a super.

“Well, me too. The mask just helps me channel it better.” Larissa gestured to the mask on the coffee table, the one she had taken off.

“This is a lot,” Eric realized, popping open his beer with only his thumb. Larissa whistled.

“Man, Eric, that super strength must be nice,” she laughed.

Eric’s lips upturned in a smile. He knew he should probably be more alarmed by this whole situation than he actually was, but really he felt pretty at ease with Larissa.

“Bitty,” he said suddenly. “The owner of the bakery across from my shop calls me Bitty. It’s… more intimate than my first name somehow.”

“Yeah?” Larissa tilted her head a bit. “Well, if we’re sharing intimate nicknames then call me Lardo.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lardo.”

The two of them stood in silence for a bit, drinking their beer.

Then, “You don’t have to fight alone. Out there, when it’s hard.”

The sudden words made Eric pause. He didn’t have a response for it. Working with someone else would make things easier, sure, but he couldn’t rely on someone else to help him if things got too rough. Sometimes heroes were just villains in disguise, after all. Eric knew that first hand.

~//~

The cover up done, Bitty stepped back and picked up the bag of spray paints. He decided to leave them at the church’s back door; if anyone should pick it up, he thought it should be the pastor. He was prepared to take to the skies once more when his communicator sounded. He pulled it off his hip and answered.

“Baker.”

“I think I know who you are,” a deeper voice chuckled from the other end. Bitty felt his heart speed up a bit, excitement running through his veins.

“You never know, Ice Prince, I might have to remind you who I am if you ever get brainwashed.” The playful banter was easy for Bitty; Ice Prince made it easy.

“Yeah? I guess I’ll have to hope you can help me get  _ un _ brainwashed, huh? Where are you right now?”

Bitty jumped and entered the air, the night sky clear. He floated above the church. “I’m uptown right now. Some kids were vandalizing a church.”

“Never took you for the religious type,” Ice Prince laughed. It was such an open and carefree sound. Bitty wanted to make it his ringtone.

“Some God gave us these powers, Princey. I like to think he wouldn’t appreciate me letting vandalism slide.” Ice Prince laughed again, causing butterflies in Bitty’s stomach. “You wanna meet me downtown? Pass the pond preferably.”

“I’m actually closer to Annie’s. You know the shop?”

How could Bitty forget.

“I’ll be there.”

~//~

Bitty wondered if there were any other superheroes that hid their outfit beneath their clothes. There was absolutely no way Batman or Captain America ever wore their suits beneath their regular clothing. It was so  _ hot _ , and incredibly stuffy during the summer. That wasn’t even counting the fact that Bitty constantly had a fire beneath his skin. He couldn’t tap into it at the moment but he always felt it there.

And didn’t LAX ever take a break? The Joker didn’t terrorize Gotham all the time. Why was LAX always in the middle of the city breaking shit?

“Pay attention! You’re gonna lose your life like that!” LAX Speed moved too fast for Bitty to really be able to catch him. It was  _ annoying _ and Bitty was almost positive Lardo would have just as tough of a time. Then there was the  _ other _ one.

A tornado ripped through the streets, uprooting lamp poles and signs and picking cars up like a toddler would toys. LAX Cyclone was what he called himself and whenever Bitty got too close he let loose another one of those tornados, sending Bitty flying and allowing LAX Speed a chance to knock Bitty around.

He found himself crashing into a building and a very large hunk of debris hurtling towards him when a wall of ice blocked the attack that could have seriously injured him. Bitty was surprised to see another hero standing in front of him, the ice blocking them from view. A mask obscured his face, so Bitty couldn’t tell what his expression was. He could, however, see the deep frown on the other’s face.

“What are you doing? You can’t just go rushing in with these guys! Are you a hero or aren’t you?” The words were yelled over the sound of chaos, but Bitty would have heard them even if they had been whispered. They stung, yeah, but Bitty knew that at the end of the day civilian lives came first. He was being brash and he rushed in and got who knows how many people hurt already.

The mysterious hero held out a hand to him. Bitty saw it as an offering of peace, he had no idea it was an extension of friendship too. They decided without words that they needed to beat these LAX goons quickly and help the city get back to some normalcy.

The easy way they fought together, coming up with plays on the fly and finally getting the best of Cyclone and Speed was an indicator of some kind of chemistry between them. Bitty felt like he could read the other’s mind when it came to their movements. They were so in sync Bitty knew they scared even the LAX villains, who ran away with their tails between their legs faster than Bitty could say “Flower power.”

When the fight was done, Bitty turned to the other hero.

“You’re good,” the other said, “Let’s fight together again sometime.”

“I’m the Baker. You―I’m glad you helped me.”

“I know who you are. Newest H.A.U.S. hero. Artessa told me about you. I’m Ice Prince.”

Ice Prince… Bitty felt like he had heard the name before, but he couldn’t really pinpoint where. Maybe Lardo had mentioned it?

“It was good meeting you.”

With that, Ice Prince skated away, leaving Bitty wondering why his heart raced and his palms felt sweaty. Part of him knew it had nothing to do with the fight, and part of him wondered why he had to find another super hero attractive.

He heard the sound of cameras and phones taking pictures, and looked to see that he stood in front of a small cafe with people watching him intently and cheering for him. The name of the cafe was  _ Annie’s _ and the people were happy to be alive.

Bitty could share the sentiment.

~//~

Ice Prince stood outside the little cafe, watching the skies and waiting for his partner to land. Bitty spotted him easily and touched down in front of him, hands on his hips. Ice Prince’s lips upturned in an easy smile.

“Took you a while, didn’t it?”

“Some of us don’t skate onto the scene,” Bitty huffed. The two of them started walking, an on foot patrol easier than Bitty carrying Ice Prince around.

“I’m still waiting for that kiss,” Ice Prince nudged Bitty.

“Eyes on the prize, Mister Prince,” Bitty blushed, not making eye contact and glad for the mask that covered his face.

“Oh, I thought we had something.”

“Don’t make me push you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“...You’re right.”

The talk flowed so easily between them Bitty felt like they had known each other for longer than a year. He was glad to be able to just spend some time with his friend without having to worry about any villains interrupting them.

Their night passed in quiet comfort, two souls on the lookout for troublemakers disrupting their peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you noticed a couple references to other fictional characters; I decided (with the help of the OMGCP Trans net) that our other favourite superheroes exist in this universe too.
> 
> Drop me a comment if you wanna see a cameo from a fave superhero or villain! Or just some feedback if you'd like.

**Author's Note:**

> Next up: Bitty and Jack working together as civilians and heroes. Maybe.


End file.
